Methods, devices, and systems for network assisted transmission with multiple component carriers

ABSTRACT

A method performed by a serving cell of a base station (BS) is provided. The method receives a measurement report from a user equipment (UE). The measurement report includes measurements associated with another cell. The method then transmits, to the UE, beam information based on the received measurements via a two-stage indication. The beam information includes at least a synchronization signal (SS) block bitmap having one or more SS block bits corresponding to one or more SS block indices for the another cell.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/896,143, filed Jun. 8, 2020, published as U.S.Patent Publication No. 2020/0314665, which is a continuation applicationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/190,502, filed Nov. 14, 2018,issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,728,909, which claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/585,607, filedNov. 14, 2017, the contents of all of which are hereby fullyincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, andmore particularly, to network assisted transmission with multiplecomponent carriers.

BACKGROUND

In the 4^(th) generation (4G) Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) wirelesscommunication systems, to utilize multi-carrier transmission, a userequipment (UE) needs to establish a connection to a primary cell (PCell)first, perform measurements in response to the received measurementconfigurations from the PCell, and send corresponding measurementreports to the current serving base station to determine one or morecomponent carriers (CCs) (e.g., secondary cells (SCells)) to connect to.In the next generation (e.g., the 5^(th) generation (5G) New Radio (NR))wireless communication networks, multi-carrier transmissions, such ascarrier aggregation (CA) and dual connectivity (DC), will operate inhigher frequency bands. As such, multi-carrier transmission in the nextgeneration wireless communication networks may need to compensate forthe high pathloss in high frequency bands.

Beam operations in high frequency bands, such as high modulation (e.g.,64 QAM), need to be supported by high quality signals. Thus, the nextgeneration wireless communication networks need to utilize beamforminggain obtained from directional phase array antennas to enhance datarates. Beamforming gain may be obtained on both transmission (TX) andreception (RX) antennas. While beamforming gain can alleviateperformance degradation caused by pathloss, beamforming may result inreduced beam width. Thus, the network and UEs have to perform extraprocedures to align beams toward target directions for both TX and RXbeamforming to maintain high data rate.

The conventional beam alignment procedure can cause excessive powerconsumption and severe latency since a UE needs to perform RX beamsweeping to each TX beam from a base station until the UE finds a pairof RX and TX beams, which satisfies a received power requirement. In acase of carrier aggregation of a cell group, a secondary cell (SCell)'sactivation and deactivation may happen frequently. It would beunacceptable and/or undesirable if a time-consuming beam alignmentprocedure needs to be performed for each SCell activation. In addition,for primary SCell (PSCell) addition in dual connectivity, since thededicate RACH configurations may be provided based on the beaminformation from the master node, a fast beam alignment procedure forPSCell addition may also be desirable.

Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved beam alignmentprocedure for both SCell activation and PSCell addition for transmissionin multiple component carriers in the next generation (e.g., 5G NR)wireless communication systems.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to methods, devices, and systems fornetwork assisted transmission with multiple component carriers.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a userequipment (UE) is described, the method comprising: receiving, throughreception circuitry of the UE, a Synchronization Signal (SS) blockbitmap from a primary cell (PCell), the SS block bitmap having one ormore SS block bits corresponding to one or more SS block indices;measuring, through the reception circuitry, one or more SS blocks from asecondary cell (SCell) based on the SS block bitmap.

In an implementation of the first aspect, the method further comprisesproviding, by transmission circuitry of the UE, a measurement report tothe PCell, the measurement report having beam-related measurements ofthe SCell.

In another implementation of the first aspect, the PCell and SCell areof a same cell group.

In yet another implementation of the first aspect, the PCell and SCellare of different cell groups.

In yet another implementation of the first aspect, the one or more SSblock indices correspond to one or more SS block positions in burst fromthe SCell.

In yet another implementation of the first aspect, the one or more SSblock bits being “1” indicates that the corresponding one or more SSblock are to be measured by the UE; the one or more SS block bits being“0” indicates that the corresponding one or more SS block are not to bemeasured by the UE.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) isdescribed, the UE comprising: one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodiedthereon; at least one processor coupled to the one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media, and configured to execute thecomputer-executable instructions to: receive, through receptioncircuitry of the UE, a Synchronization Signal (SS) block bitmap from aprimary cell (PCell), the SS block bitmap having one or more SS blockbits corresponding to one or more SS block indices; measure, through thereception circuitry, one or more SS blocks from a secondary cell (SCell)based on the SS block bitmap.

In an implementation of the second aspect, the at least one processor isfurther configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:transmit, by transmission circuitry of the UE, a measurement report tothe PCell, the measurement report having beam-related measurements ofthe SCell.

In another implementation of the second aspect, the PCell and SCell areof a same cell group.

In yet another implementation of the second aspect, the PCell and SCellare of different cell groups.

In yet another implementation of the second aspect, the one or more SSblock indices correspond to one or more SS block positions in burst fromthe SCell.

In yet another implementation of the second aspect, the one or more SSblock bits being “1” indicates that the corresponding one or more SSblock are to be measured by the UE; the one or more SS block bits being“0” indicates that the corresponding one or more SS block are not to bemeasured by the UE.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method for a base stationis described, the method comprising: receiving, through receptioncircuitry of the base station, a measurement report having beam-relatedmeasurements of a secondary cell (SCell) of the base station from a userequipment (UE); providing, through transmission circuitry of the basestation, a Synchronization Signal (SS) block bitmap to the UE from aprimary cell (PCell) of the base station; wherein the SS block bitmapincludes one or more SS block bits corresponding to one or more SS blockindices.

In an implementation of the third aspect, the SS block bitmap istransmitted to the UE through Radio Resource Control (RRC) signalingfrom the PCell of the base station.

In another implementation of the third aspect, the PCell and SCell areof a same cell group.

In yet another implementation of the third aspect, the PCell and SCellare of different cell groups.

In yet another implementation of the third aspect, the one or more SSblock indices correspond to one or more SS block positions in burst fromthe SCell.

In yet another implementation of the third aspect, the one or more SSblock bits being “1” indicates that the corresponding one or more SSblock are to be measured by the UE; the one or more SS block bits being“0” indicates that the corresponding one or more SS block are not to bemeasured by the UE.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by aserving cell of a base station (BS) is provided. The method receives ameasurement report from a user equipment (UE). The measurement reportincludes measurements associated with another cell. The method thentransmits, to the UE, beam information based on the receivedmeasurements via a two-stage indication. The beam information includesat least a synchronization signal (SS) block bitmap having one or moreSS block bits corresponding to one or more SS block indices for theanother cell.

In an implementation of the fourth aspect, the UE receives one or moreresource locations of one or more SS blocks from the another cell basedon the SS block bitmap.

In another implementation of the fourth aspect, the serving cell is aprimary cell (PCell).

In another implementation of the fourth aspect, the another cell is oneof a secondary cell (SCell) and a primary secondary cell (PSCell).

In another implementation of the fourth aspect, the serving cell and theanother cell are associated with a same cell group.

In another implementation of the fourth aspect, the serving cell and theanother cell are associated with two different cell groups.

In another implementation of the fourth aspect, the one or more SS blockindices correspond to one or more SS block positions in a burstassociated with the another cell.

In another implementation of the fourth aspect, the one or more SS blockbits being “1” indicates that corresponding one or more SS blocks are tobe measured by the UE; and the one or more SS block bits being “0”indicates that the corresponding one or more SS blocks are not to bemeasured by the UE.

In another implementation of the fourth aspect, the two-stage indicationcomprises a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message and a Media AccessControl (MAC) control element (CE).

In another implementation of the fourth aspect, transmitting the beaminformation to the UE comprises transmitting the beam information to theUE via RRC signaling.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a base station (BS) isdescribed. The BS includes one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia storing computer-executable instructions and at least oneprocessor coupled to the one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia. The at least one processor configured to execute thecomputer-executable instructions to receive, at a serving cell of theBS, a measurement report from a user equipment (UE), the measurementreport comprising measurements associated with another cell; andtransmit, by the serving cell, to the UE, beam information based on thereceived measurements via a two-stage indication, wherein the beaminformation comprises at least a synchronization signal (SS) blockbitmap having one or more SS block bits corresponding to one or more SSblock indices for the another cell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the exemplary disclosure are best understood from thefollowing detailed description when read with the accompanying figures.Various features are not drawn to scale, dimensions of various featuresmay be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing enabling and disabling carrier aggregationin a 4G LTE wireless system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing enabling and disabling dual connectivity ina 4G LTE wireless system.

FIG. 3 illustrates a beam alignment procedure without beam information.

FIG. 4 illustrates a beam alignment procedure, where a base stationprovides beam information to assist a UE to find qualified beams,according to an example implementation of the present application.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a mechanism of cell level and beam levelmeasurement reports.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a base station recommending neighboringbeams, according to an example implementation of the presentapplication.

FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a base station recommending referencesignals other than the reference signal contained in the measurementreport, according to an example implementation of the presentapplication.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7D are diagrams of RRC signaling and Media AccessControl-Control Element (MAC-CE) content for a two-stage indication,according to example implementations of the present application.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an SCell configuration with beam informationof SS block actual transmitted table, according to an exampleimplementation of the present application.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing specific beam information in a MAC-CE,according to an example implementation of the present application.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing specific beam information in a MAC-CE,according to an example implementation of the present application.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing beam information of a Quasi Co-Location(QCL) configuration, according to an example implementation of thepresent application.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an SCell activation and TransmissionConfiguration Indication (TCI) for beam information in a DCI, accordingto an example implementation of the present application.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) configurationwith beam information in an RRC connection reconfiguration message,according to an example implementation of the present application.

FIG. 14A is a flowchart of a method for a UE, according to an exampleimplementation of the present application.

FIG. 14B is a flowchart of a method for a base station, according to anexample implementation of the present application.

FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram of a node for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with various aspects of the presentapplication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description contains specific information pertaining toexample implementations in the present disclosure. The drawings in thepresent disclosure and their accompanying detailed description aredirected to merely example implementations. However, the presentdisclosure is not limited to merely these example implementations. Othervariations and implementations of the present disclosure will occur tothose skilled in the art. Unless noted otherwise, like or correspondingelements among the figures may be indicated by like or correspondingreference numerals. Moreover, the drawings and illustrations in thepresent disclosure are generally not to scale, and are not intended tocorrespond to actual relative dimensions.

For the purpose of consistency and ease of understanding, like featuresare identified (although, in some examples, not shown) by numerals inthe example figures. However, the features in different implementationsmay be differed in other respects, and thus shall not be narrowlyconfined to what is shown in the figures.

References to “one implementation,” “an implementation,” “exampleimplementation,” “various implementations,” “some implementations,”“implementations of the present application,” etc., may indicate thatthe implementation(s) of the present application so described mayinclude a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but notevery possible implementation of the present application necessarilyincludes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further,repeated use of the phrase “in one implementation,” or “in an exampleimplementation,” “an implementation,” do not necessarily refer to thesame implementation, although they may. Moreover, any use of phraseslike “implementations” in connection with “the present application” arenever meant to characterize that all implementations of the presentapplication must include the particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, and should instead be understood to mean “at least someimplementations of the present application” includes the statedparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. The term “coupled” isdefined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through interveningcomponents, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. Theterm “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarilylimited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion ormembership in the so-described combination, group, series and theequivalent.

Additionally, for the purposes of explanation and non-limitation,specific details, such as functional entities, techniques, protocols,standard, and the like are set forth for providing an understanding ofthe described technology. In other examples, detailed description ofwell-known methods, technologies, system, architectures, and the likeare omitted so as not to obscure the description with unnecessarydetails.

Persons skilled in the art will immediately recognize that any networkfunction(s) or algorithm(s) described in the present disclosure may beimplemented by hardware, software or a combination of software andhardware. Described functions may correspond to modules may be software,hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. The softwareimplementation may comprise computer executable instructions stored oncomputer readable medium such as memory or other type of storagedevices. For example, one or more microprocessors or general purposecomputers with communication processing capability may be programmedwith corresponding executable instructions and carry out the describednetwork function(s) or algorithm(s). The microprocessors or generalpurpose computers may be formed of applications specific integratedcircuitry (ASIC), programmable logic arrays, and/or using one or moredigital signal processor (DSPs). Although some of the exampleimplementations described in this specification are oriented to softwareinstalled and executing on computer hardware, nevertheless, alternativeexample implementations implemented as firmware or as hardware orcombination of hardware and software are well within the scope of thepresent disclosure.

The computer readable medium includes but is not limited to randomaccess memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc read-only memory (CD ROM),magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or any otherequivalent medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions.

A radio communication network architecture (e.g., a long term evolution(LTE) system, a LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, or a LTE-Advanced Prosystem) typically includes at least one base station, at least one UE,and one or more optional network elements that provide connectiontowards a network. The UE communicates with the network (e.g., a corenetwork (CN), an evolved packet core (EPC) network, an Evolved UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access network (E-UTRAN), a Next-Generation Core(NGC), or an internet), through a radio access network (RAN) establishedby the base station.

It should be noted that, in the present application, a UE may include,but is not limited to, a mobile station, a mobile terminal or device, auser communication radio terminal. For example, a UE may be a portableradio equipment, which includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone,a tablet, a wearable device, a sensor, or a personal digital assistant(PDA) with wireless communication capability. The UE is configured toreceive and transmit signals over an air interface to one or more cellsin a radio access network.

A base station may include, but is not limited to, a node B (NB) as inthe UMTS, an evolved node B (eNB) as in the LTE-A, a radio networkcontroller (RNC) as in the UMTS, a base station controller (BSC) as inthe GSM/GERAN, an NG-eNB as in an E-UTRA base station in connection withthe 5GC, a next generation node B (gNB) as in the 5G-AN, and any otherapparatus capable of controlling radio communication and managing radioresources within a cell. The base station may connect to serve the oneor more UEs through a radio interface to the network.

A base station may be configured to provide communication servicesaccording to at least one of the following radio access technologies(RATs): Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), GlobalSystem for Mobile communications (GSM, often referred to as 2G), GSMEDGE radio access Network (GERAN), General Packet Radio Service (GRPS),Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS, often referred to as3G) based on basic wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA),high-speed packet access (HSPA), LTE, LTE-A, eLTE (evolved LTE), NewRadio (NR, often referred to as 5G), and/or LTE-A Pro. However, thescope of the present application should not be limited to the abovementioned protocols.

The base station is operable to provide radio coverage to a specificgeographical area using a plurality of cells forming the radio accessnetwork. The base station supports the operations of the cells. Eachcell is operable to provide services to at least one UE within its radiocoverage. More specifically, each cell (often referred to as a servingcell) provides services to serve one or more UEs within its radiocoverage, (e.g., each cell schedules the downlink and optionally uplinkresources to at least one UE within its radio coverage for downlink andoptionally uplink packet transmissions). The base station cancommunicate with one or more UEs in the radio communication systemthrough the plurality of cells. A cell may allocate sidelink (SL)resources for supporting proximity service (ProSe). A cell may be a NR-Ucell (i.e., the cell associated with unlicensed band). Each cell mayhave overlapped coverage areas with other cells.

As discussed above, the frame structure for NR is to support flexibleconfigurations for accommodating various next generation (e.g., 5G)communication requirements, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB),massive machine type communication (mMTC), ultra reliable communicationand low latency communication (URLLC), while fulfilling highreliability, high data rate and low latency requirements. The orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) technology as agreed in 3GPP mayserve as a baseline for NR waveform. The scalable OFDM numerology, suchas the adaptive sub-carrier spacing, the channel bandwidth, and theCyclic Prefix (CP), may also be used. Additionally, two coding schemesare considered for NR: (1) low-density parity-check (LDPC) code and (2)Polar Code. The coding scheme adaption may be configured based on thechannel conditions and/or the service applications.

Moreover, it is also considered that in a transmission time interval TXof a single NR frame, a downlink (DL) transmission data, a guard period,and an uplink (UL) transmission data should at least be included, wherethe respective portions of the DL transmission data, the guard period,the UL transmission data should also be configurable, for example, basedon the network dynamics of NR. In addition, sidelink resource may alsobe provided in a NR frame to support ProSe services.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing enabling and disabling carrier aggregationin a 4G LTE system. As shown in FIG. 1 , diagram 100 includes actions112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, 124, 126, and 128. In action 112, UE 102establishes a radio resource control (RRC) connection with a basestation via PCell 104. In action 114, UE 102 performs inter-frequencymeasurements to find one or more qualified cells based on themeasurement configurations, and sends a measurement report to the basestation through PCell 104. In action 116, the base station, throughPCell 104, sends UE 102 a message including an SCellToAddModListinformation element to UE 102 to configure those cells as SCells for UE102. The SCellToAddModList information element includes, for example,SCellIndex, CellIdentification, RadioResourceConfigCommonSCell, andRadioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell as shown in FIG. 2 . In action 118,the base station decides to start a carrier aggregation transmission. Inaction 120, the base station, through PCell 104 sends an SCellactivation Media Access Control-Control Element (MAC-CE) to UE 102 foractivating a configured SCell via the MAC-CE. In the 4G LTE system, ifUE 102 receives the SCell activation MAC-CE in subframe #n to activateSCell 106, UE 102 may start monitoring a PDCCH on SCell 106 and PDSCHfor SCell 106 no earlier than subframe #n+8 and no later than subframe#n+24 or #n+34, respectively.

In action 122, UE 102 sends an SCell activation response message toPCell 104. In action 124, SCell 106 starts transmitting data afteractivation. In action 126, PCell 104 sends an SCell deactivation messageto UE 102 via a MAC-CE. In action 128, UE 102 deactivates SCell 106 uponreceiving the SCell de-activation message or after an SCell deactivationtimer expires.

If the actions in diagram 100 were to be implemented in a nextgeneration (e.g., 5G NR) wireless communication system, UE 102 wouldhave to perform beam alignment for an SCell to find qualified beamsafter SCell 106 is activated. The beam alignment process would causesevere power consumption and increased latency, since UE 102 would needto perform RX beam sweeping to each TX beam from SCell 106 until UE 102finds a pair of RX and TX beams which satisfies the received powerrequirement. To perform beam alignment for activating a configuredSCell, UE 102 would also need to monitor all the SS blocks of SCell 106and find the qualified beams for carrier aggregation transmission afterUE 102 receives the SCell activation MAC-CE. This beam sweepingprocedure would increase latency and power consumption that areessential to system performance Even though the beam information ofSCell 106 is received before the SCell's activation, the beam alignmentprocedure is needed and increase latency, for example, due to UEmobility.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing enabling and disabling dual connectivity ina 4G LTE system. As shown in FIG. 2 , diagram 200 includes actions 212,214, 216, 218, 220, 222, and 224. In action 212, UE 202 establishes anRRC connection with an MCG (Master Cell Group) (e.g., MeNB 204). Inaction 214, UE 202 measures and triggers measurement reports when thesignal quality of one or more neighboring cells is qualified. In action216, MeNB 204 sends a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) addition request to theSCG (e.g., having SeNB 206) to configure dual connectivity. In action218, the SCG (e.g., through SeNB 206) sends an addition requestacknowledgement to MeNB 204. In action 220, the MCG (e.g., through MeNB204) sends PSCellToAddMod and SCellToAddModListSCG information elementsfor UE 202 to configure those cells as PSCell and SCells of the SCG forUE 202. The SCellToAddModListSCG information element includes, forexample, SCellIndex, CellIdentification, RadioResourceConfigCommonSCelland RadioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell. In action 222, the MeNB 204 sendsa SeNB reconfiguration complete message to SeNB 206. In action 224, whenMeNB 204 decides to start a dual connectivity transmission, UE 202performs a random access (RACH) procedure to establish a connection tothe PSCell according to the signaling (e.g., reconfiguration for SCGaddition). In a reconfiguration for SCG addition, UE 202 may perform theRACH procedure by using the RACH resources indicated by Dedicate RACHconfigurations. If the dedicated RACH configuration is not present, theUE may fallback to use common RACH configurations, for example. Foractivating the PSCell, UE 202 would need to perform the beam alignmentprocedure, which would cause additional latency and power consumption,even when the beam information was contained in the PSCellToAddModinformation element as the beam information may not be up-to-date.

FIG. 3 illustrates a beam alignment procedure without beam information.As shown in diagram 300, UE 302 needs to perform RX beam sweeping for TXbeam sweeping of all SS blocks (e.g., SS burst sets) from base station308 to find a qualified beam for DL transmission. Since there may be upto 64 SS blocks of different DL TX beams from base station 308, it canresult in high power consumption and access latency.

FIG. 4 illustrates a beam alignment procedure, where a base stationprovides beam information to assist a UE to find qualified beams,according to an example implementation of the present application. Asshown in diagram 400, base station 408 provides appropriate DL TX beaminformation (e.g., an SS block index) to UE 402 prior to beam alignment.Thus, UE 402 knows the exact time to monitor the SS block indicated bybase station 408, thus implicitly knows which DL RX beam to use basedon, for example, Beam Pair Link (BPL) information.

Furthermore, due to Bandwidth Part (BWP) operations in 5G NR systems,the initial active DL BWP of an SCell may not contain SS blocks for theUE to perform beam alignment, and the periodicity of period channelstate information-reference signal (CSI-RS) or tracking reference signal(TRS) contained in the initial active DL BWP of SCell may be too long tosatisfy the latency requirement.

According to implementations of the present application, a downlink (DL)beam alignment procedure is used for a UE to find at least one qualifiedDL TX beam and DL RX beam by monitoring multiple reference signals (RSs)(e.g., Synchronization Signal blocks (SS blocks) or CSI-RS) transmittedby the base station.

Implementations of the present application utilize an inter-cell beamlevel measurement report and inform a UE beam related information beforetriggering carrier aggregation or dual connectivity, thereby saving beamalignment procedure overhead for the carrier aggregation or dualconnectivity transmission.

In various implementations of the present application, a measurementreport configuration may include specific reference signals such as SSblock(s) or CSI-RS resource index(ices) for a UE to measure and reportthe beam level quality.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a mechanism of cell level and beam levelmeasurement reports. A beam level report may be contained in themeasurement report if one or more measured beam formed RS qualityfulfilled the reporting triggered condition. The UE may report the beamsby the order of quality. For example, according to the measurementconfiguration, if the quality of Cell A fulfills the correspondingtriggering condition and the measurement report is then triggered to besent to the base station. The event-triggered measurement report maycontain the cell quality of Cell A together with the corresponding beaminformation. For example, the quality of SS block 2 of Cell A, which isabove the configured threshold (e.g., RSRP threshold or RSRQ threshold)after layer 3 filtering. The cell quality and the beam information mayalso be derived based on the CSI-RS(s). Therefore, upon receiving themeasurement report, the base station may know which DL TX beams isqualified for UE, e.g., SS block 2. Afterwards, the base station mayutilize this DL TX beam information to recommend a set of RSs associatedto DL TX beam in the first active DL BWP of SCell. It is noted that thedefault DL BWP of SCell may be the first active BWP of SCell or not(rely on gNB's configuration). It is noted that the base station maydeduce additional recommend DL TX beam based on the beam levelmeasurement report. For example, if the beam level measurement reportcontains only SS block 1 which represents DL TX beam 2, the base stationmay recommend the UE to monitor RSs associated with neighbor DL TX beamof DL TX beam 1 as shown in FIG. 6A. In another case, the base stationmay recommend the sets of RSs associated with coarser or finer beam tothe UE compared to DL TX beam 1 as shown in FIG. 7B. If the RS containedin beam level measurement report does not contain the first active DLBWP of the SCell, the base station may recommend UE RSs other than theRS contained in the measurement report. For example, if the first activeDL BWP of SCell does not contain SS block, the base station mayrecommend the UE one or more CSI-RS resource sets which are applied insimilar beam direction with the RS contained in the measurement reportas shown in FIG. 6B.

For carrier aggregation in CASE 1, under CASE 1-1, when a UE sends abeam level measurement report of one or more SCells to a base station,the base station may inform the UE additional SCell beam information ina SCell configuration through an RRC connection reconfiguration messageof a PCell. The beam information may be an SS block index, an SS blockactual transmitted bitmap (e.g., an SSB-ToMeasure bit map), a CSI-RSresource index, an antenna port information, or a QCL configuration toinform the qualified beam(s) of the SCell based on the previousmeasurement report. It is noted that it may be only one bit to indicatethat the SCell use the same QCL assumption of the PCell for the casewhere a QCL configuration is in the SCell. Afterward, the base stationmay send an SCell activation message through a MAC-CE of the PCell. Ifthe UE successfully receives the MAC-CE for activing the SCell, the UEsends an acknowledgement message to the base station through the PCell,and monitors the scheduling information in the SCell.

Thus, the UE may utilize the beam information contained in the RRCconnection reconfiguration message to prevent additional beam alignmentafter receiving the SCell activation message in the MAC-CE.

After the UE replies the SCell activation MAC CE, the UE may attempt toreceive data channel or control channel in the SCell.

For the case of SCell activation without beam information, the UE needsto perform beam alignment by monitoring all the beam management RSs(e.g., SS blocks or CSI-RS) in the SCell to find the qualified beam(s)for reception.

For the case of SCell activation with beam information (e.g., when theUE has sent beam level measurement report to the base station beforeSCell activation), the UE may obtain the beam information based on theSCell configuration. Thus, the UE may utilize the beam information fromhigher layers (e.g., MAC-CE or RRC) to save resource during L1 beamalignment by only monitoring configured beam management RSs.Furthermore, if the UE fails to receive scheduling information in theSCell based on the configured beam information, the UE may send a newmeasurement report of the SCell based on the measured result during themonitoring of scheduling information in the SCell. The new measurementreport may contain only a cell level measurement report or contain bothcell level and beam level measurement reports. If there is no beam levelmeasurement report from the UE, the base station will not include beaminformation in the SCell configuration. The UE will monitor all thepossible location of SS block transmission in SCell for monitoringscheduling information.

In CASE 1-2-1, the beam information may include a two-stage indicationby using RRC signaling and MAC-CE. In addition to a MAC-CE containing anSCell activation, CASE 1-2-1 also includes a new MAC-CE containing beamrelated information.

The beam information may include an SS block index, an SS block actualtransmitted bitmap, a CSI-RS resource index, antenna port information ora QCL indication to inform the qualified beam of the SCell based on theprevious measurement report. For the case of QCL indication, the UE mayassume that the SCell uses the same QCL configuration as the PCell. Thefirst stage may include detailed beam information (e.g., SS block actualtransmitted bitmap or QCL configuration) contained in an RRC connectionreconfiguration message, and the second stage is a specific beamindication (e.g., SS block indices or QCL indication) contained in aMAC-CE. The MAC-CE may indicate specific RS indices with binaryoperation other than a detailed RS bitmap in RRC signaling for the UE tomonitor/measure as shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C, and 7B. FIG. 7A is a casewhere a base station only indicates one beam. FIG. 7B is a case where abase station indicates three neighbor beams for the UE. FIG. 7C is acase for a beam indication by a QCL configuration containing measuredRSs. In this case, the UE follows the order of the RSs contained in theQCL configuration to find the corresponding RSs based on the MAC-CE.FIG. 7D is a case for a beam set indication by a QCL configurationcontaining a number of measured RSs. In this case, the UE follows theorder of the RSs contained in the QCL configuration to find thecorresponding RSs based on a MAC-CE by the RS subgroup length configuredthrough the RRC message or the MAC-CE. The subgroup beam indication maybe also used for an actual SS block transmitted bitmap, where the UEwill monitor/measure those beams, that are indicated by both the MAC-CEand the actual SS block transmitted bitmap. It is noted that thesub-header of the MAC-CE may contain the length of MAC-CE for UE to knowthe information regarding how many indicated beams are contained in theSCell activation MAC-CE. If the UE does not receive schedulinginformation in the SCell based on configured beam information, the UEmay send a new measurement report of the SCell based on the measuredresult during the monitoring of scheduling information in the SCell. Itis noted that the new measurement report may be based on the SS blockactual transmitted bitmap contained in the RRC connectionreconfiguration. The new measurement report may contain only a celllevel measurement report or contain both the cell level and beam levelmeasurement reports. If there is only a cell level measurement report,the base station may not contain beam information in the SCellconfiguration. The UE may need to monitor/measure all the possiblelocation of SS block transmission in the SCell for receiving datachannel or control channel.

If the SCell activation MAC-CE activates multiple SCells at the sametime, the number of indicated beam information may be pre-defined orconfigured as the same number for each SCell. For example, if there are64 information bits being used for beam information upon a MAC-CE and 10SCells are activated by the same SCell activation MAC-CE. Thereafter,when only 8 SCells are configured with beam information upon the SCellconfiguration MAC-CE, and each SCell may have 8 information bits forreporting beam information in the MAC-CE. In one implementation undermultiple SCell activation, when there are some activated SCells withbeam information for beam alignment and some activated SCells withoutbeam information for beam alignment, two different MAC-CEs are utilized,one for the activated SCells with beam information and the other for theactivated SCells without beam information. The LCID of the MAC-CE forthe SCell activation MAC-CE with beam information is different from thecorresponding LCID of the MAC-CE for SCell activation MAC-CE withoutbeam information.

In CASE 1-2-2, the same LCID can be used, but different values may beset for the Reserve bit contained in the MAC-CE for the multiple SCellactivation case. For example, if the reserve bit is 1, the MAC-CEcontains beam information for one or more SCells. On the other hand, ifthe reserve bit is 0, the MAC-CE does not contain any beam information.

In CASE 1-3, a base station may use a MAC-CE bitmap to indicate which SSblock is appropriate for beam alignment without having any beam relatedinformation in RRC signaling. For example, “1” may indicate that the SSblock is actually transmitted and its signal strength is sufficientlystrong (e.g., larger than a pre-defined threshold), and “0” may indicatethat the SS block is not transmitted or the detected signal strength isnot good (e.g., smaller than another pre-defined threshold). It is notedthat the bitmap length may be equal to that of the SS block actualtransmitted bitmap, and the SS block actual transmitted bitmap may be adetailed bitmap as in RRC signaling or a group-bitmap as transmitted inbroadcast signaling. When the UE receives the bitmap, the prioritizationof beam alignment toward the specific SS block (which ones are assignedwith “1” in the bitmap) is up to UE implementation. It is noted that theUE may distinguish the MAC-CE with beam information and the MAC-CEwithout beam information by MAC-CE or reserved bits as described in CASE1-2.

In CASE 1-4, an SCell activation MAC-CE is transmitted by a DCI and thebeam information is two-stage indicated by DCI and RRC signaling. InCASE 1-4, a UE monitors a DCI format of a PDCCH in a PCell to obtain anSCell ID and beam information of SCell. The beam information may includeindices (e.g., Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI)) which mayindicate one of the QCL configuration. The number of bits for TCI isthen implicitly known by the UE according to the number of beamscontained in an RRC QCL configuration. For example, if the number ofbeams in an RRC QCL configuration is 8, the UE knows that there are 3TCI bits in the DCI. The QCL configuration is contained in the SCellconfiguration in the RRC connection reconfiguration. It is noted that ifthe UE does not find a QCL configuration in the SCell configurationwhile there is a TCI contained in the DCI for the SCell scheduling, theUE may reuse the QCL assumption of the PCell for beam information of theSCell. If the UE does not receive scheduling information in the SCellbased on the configured beam information, the UE may send a newmeasurement report following the previous description. It is noted thatif there is beam information contained in the SCell configuration, theUE may monitor additional DCI format which is used for transmitting theSCell activation with beam information.

For dual connectivity, when a UE has sent a beam level measurementreport of cells in a SCG to a MCG, the base station may inform the UEadditional beam information of the cells in the SCG through an SCGconfiguration contained in an RRC connection reconfiguration messagethrough the MCG. The beam information may be an SS block actualtransmitted bitmap which may be configured for each cell. For example,each cell in the SCG may use the configured SS block actual transmittedbitmap contained in the SCG configuration. It is noted that cells, whichmay be configured by the SCG configuration, may include both PSCell andSCell(s). Since SCell activation operations in the MCG and SCG followthe same procedure as in the carrier aggregation case, similarprocedures in carrier aggregation may apply. It should be noted that aRACH procedure is essential for PSCell activation. Without theassistance of beam information, the UE needs to monitor/measure all theSS blocks before sending MSG1 to find a qualified beam. If there is nobitmap contained in the SCG configuration, the UE needs tomonitor/measure all the possible locations of SS block transmission tofind the qualified beam for the RACH procedure as shown in FIG. 3 . Onthe other hand, when there is an SS block actual transmitted bitmapcontained in the SCG configuration, the UE may save resource and timethat would otherwise be used for the beam alignment procedure as shownin FIG. 4 .

In CASE 1 for carrier aggregation described above, the beam informationis in RRC connection reconfiguration only. A UE may perform cellmeasurement and send a beam level measurement report to a base stationthrough a PCell when the measurement result is above a pre-determinedthreshold. When the base station receives the beam level measurementreport of one or more cells (e.g., SCells), the base station may includethe beam information of SS block actual transmitted table in theRadioResourceConfigCommonSCell (or ServingCellConfig) of SCellconfiguration (SCellConfig) 800 as shown in FIG. 8 . It is noted thatthe beam information may be contained in any sub-information element inthe SCell configuration such as RadioResourceConfigCommonSCell orRadioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell. The beam information may be an SSblock index, an SS block actual transmitted bitmap (e.g., 64 bits), aCSI-RS resource index, antenna port information or a QCL indication. Onthe other hand, if the base station only receives a cell levelmeasurement report of a SCell, the SCell configuration will not containbeam information. After the UE receives the SCell configuration throughRRC signaling of the PCell, the base station may send an SCellactivation MAC-CE in the PCell, and monitor/measure the response of theUE to trigger an SCell transmission. The UE may reply an acknowledgement(ACK) if the UE receives the SCell activation message successfully. Whenthe response of the SCell activation MAC-CE is an ACK message, the basestation may be able to schedule data transmission upon the SCell for theUE. In the case where the SCell configuration does not contain beaminformation, the UE may perform beam alignment by monitoring all thebeam management RS (e.g., SS blocks or CSI-RS) in the SCell to find thequalified DL TX beam and DL RX beam for reception data channel orcontrol channel. On the other hand, for the case that the SCellconfiguration contains beam information, the UE may save some resourceof beam alignment. For example, if the UE receives a bitmap, the UE mayonly need to monitor/measure the first eight SS blocks for beamalignment.

When the UE does not receive data or control information in the SCell,the UE may perform measurement in the SCell and send a measurementreport to the base station through the PCell. The measurement report maybe cell level or beam level.

When the base station receives the measurement report of the SCell, thebase station may send the SCell configuration again to renew beaminformation if the beam level measurement result is good enough for theSCell transmission. If the measurement result is below the threshold ofSCell activation which is pre-configured, the base station may send anSCell modification or SCell release through RRC connectionreconfiguration.

In CASE 1-2 described above, the beam information is in an RRCconnection reconfiguration and a MAC-CE. A UE may perform cellmeasurement and send a beam level measurement report to a base stationthrough a PCell if the measurement result is above a pre-determinedthreshold. When the base station receives the beam level measurementreport of one or more cells, the base station may add the beaminformation of SS block actual transmitted table in theRadioResourceConfigCommonSCell (or ServingCellConfig) of SCellconfiguration (SCellConfig) 800 as shown in FIG. 8 . It is noted thatthe beam information may be contained in any sub-information element inthe SCell configuration such as RadioResourceConfigCommonSCell orRadioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell. The beam information may be an SSblock index, an SS block actual transmitted bitmap, a CSI-RS resourceindex, antenna port information or a QCL table. On the other hand, ifthe base station only receives a cell level measurement report of theSCell, the SCell configuration does not contain beam information. Afterthe UE receives the SCell configuration through RRC signaling of thePCell, the base station may send an SCell activation MAC-CE and specificbeam information through a MAC-CE in the PCell as shown in FIG. 9 .Then, the base station may monitor the response of the UE to trigger anSCell transmission. The UE may reply an ACK if the UE receives the SCellactivation MAC-CE successfully. When the response of the SCellactivation MAC-CE is an ACK message, the base station may start an SCelltransmission with both the PCell and SCell. For the case that the SCellconfiguration does not contain beam information, the UE may perform beamalignment by monitoring/measuring all the beam management RS (e.g., SSblocks or CSI-RS) in the SCell to find qualified DL TX beam and DL RXbeam for reception data channel or control channel. On the other hand,for the case that the SCell configuration contains beam information, theUE may save resource of beam alignment. For example, if the UE receivesa bitmap and beam information, the UE may only need to monitor/measure,for example, the SS block #2 for beam alignment. If the UE does notreceive data or control information in the SCell, the UE may performmeasurement in the SCell and send a measurement report to the basestation through the PCell. The measurement report may be cell level orbeam level. After the base station receives the measurement report ofthe SCell, the base station may send SCell configuration again to renewbeam information if the beam level measurement result is good enough forSCell transmission. If measurement result is below the threshold of theSCell transmission, the base station may send an SCell modification orSCell release through an RRC connection reconfiguration message.

In CASE 1-3 described above, the beam information is in a MAC-CE. A UEmay perform cell measurement and send a beam level measurement report toa base station through a PCell if the measurement result is above apre-determined threshold. If the base station receives the beam levelmeasurement report of cells, the base station may add the beaminformation of SS block actual transmitted bitmap table in a MAC-CE asshown in FIG. 10 . It is noted that the beam information may be a SSblock actual transmitted bitmap which may be a detailed bitmap or groupbitmap. The length of beam information bits for the detail bitmap is thesame as the number of transmitted SS blocks. For example, the MAC-CE forbeam information contains 64 bits and each bit represents onecorresponding transmitted SS block by indexing order. After the UEreceives the SCell configuration through RRC signaling of the PCell, thebase station may activate SCell and provide specific beam informationthrough the MAC-CE in the PCell as shown in FIG. 10 . Then, the basestation may monitor the response of the UE to trigger the scheduling ofSCell transmission. The UE may reply an ACK if the UE receives the SCellactivation MAC-CE successfully. If the response of the SCell activationMAC-CE is an ACK, the base station may start an SCell transmission withboth the PCell and SCell. For the case that the SCell configuration doesnot contain beam information, the UE may perform beam alignment bymonitoring/measuring all the beam management RS (e.g., SS blocks orCSI-RS) in the SCell to find qualified DL TX beam and DL RX beam forreception data channel or control channel. On the other hand, for thecase that the SCell configuration contains beam information, the UE maysave resource of beam alignment. For example, if the UE receives abitmap and beam information as shown in FIG. 10 , the UE only needs tomonitor/measure the SS block #0˜#9 for beam alignment. If the UE failsto receive data or control in SCell, the UE may perform measurement inthe SCell and send the measurement report to the base station throughthe PCell. The measurement report may be cell level or beam level. Afterthe base station receives the measurement report of the SCell, the basestation may send the SCell configuration again to renew the beaminformation if the beam level measurement result is good enough forSCell transmission. If the measurement result is below the threshold ofSCell transmission, the base station nay send SCell modification orSCell release through RRC connection reconfiguration.

In CASE 1-4 described above, the beam information is in a DCI and an RRCsignal. The UE may perform cell measurement and send a beam levelmeasurement report to the base station through a PCell if themeasurement result is above a pre-defined threshold. If the base stationreceives the beam level measurement report of one or more cells, thebase station may add the beam information of QCL configuration inRadioResourceConfigCommonSCell of SCell configuration as shown in FIG.11 . It is noted that the beam information could be contained in any subinformation element in SCell configuration such asRadioResourceConfigCommonSCell or RadioResourceConfigDedicatedSCell. Thebeam information may be SS block index, SS block actual transmittedbitmap, CSI-RS resource index, antenna port information or QCL table. Onthe other hand, if the base station only receives cell level measurementreport of SCell, SCell configuration may not contain beam information.After the UE receives SCell configuration through RRC signaling of thePCell, the base station may send an SCell activation command and TCIthrough DCI in the PCell as shown in FIG. 12 . For example, if the UEreceives a QCL configuration as shown in FIG. 11 and TCI as shown inFIG. 12 , the UE may only monitor/measure CSI-RS resource #1 in SCell#2. The UE may reply an ACK if the UE receives data channel or controlchannel in the SCell successfully. If the UE does not receive data orcontrol in the SCell, the UE may perform measurement in the SCell andsend the measurement report to the base station through the PCell. Themeasurement report may be cell level or beam level. After the basestation receives the measurement report of the SCell, the base stationmay send the SCell configuration again to renew beam information if thebeam level measurement result is good enough for SCell transmission. Ifmeasurement result is below the threshold of SCell transmission, thebase station may send an SCell modification or an SCell release throughRRC connection reconfiguration.

For dual connective in CASE 2, the beam information is in RRC connectionreconfiguration only. A UE may perform measurement for cells in a SCGand sends a beam level measurement report to a MCG if the measurementresult is above the threshold. If the MCG receives the beam levelmeasurement report of the SCG, the base station may add the beaminformation in the SCG configuration 1300 as shown in FIG. 13 . It isnoted that the beam information may be contained in both PSCell andSCell configurations. The beam information may be an SS block actualtransmitted bitmap. On the other hand, if the base station only receivesa cell level measurement report of the SCG, the SCG configuration maynot contain beam information. After the UE receives the SCGconfiguration, the UE may start a RACH procedure for initial access inthe PSCell of the SCG. For the case the PSCell configuration does notcontain beam information, the UE may need to monitor/measure all SSblocks with different DL RX beam to perform beam alignment beforestarting RACH procedure. On the other hand, if there is beam informationin the PSCell configuration, the UE may save resource of beam alignmentprocedure. For example, if the UE receives a bitmap as shown in FIG. 10, the UE may only need to monitor/measure the first eight SS blocks forbeam alignment. After finding a qualified beam, the UE may perform aRACH procedure to access the PSCell of the SCG. If the UE fails toaccess the PSCell, the UE may perform measurement for cells in thePSCell, and send a measurement report to the MCG. The measurement reportmay be cell level or beam level. After the MCG receives the measurementreport of the PSCell, the base station may send a PSCell configurationagain to renew beam information if the beam level measurement report isgood enough for SCell transmission. If the measurement result is belowthe threshold of SCell transmission, the base station may perform aPSCell reconfiguration through RRC connection reconfiguration.

FIG. 14A is a flowchart of a method for a UE, according to an exampleimplementation of the present application. In FIG. 14A, flowchart 1420includes actions 1422, 1424, and 1426. In action 1422, the UE mayprovide, by transmission circuitry of the UE, a measurement report to aPCell, the measurement report having beam-related measurements of anSCell. In action 1424, the UE may receive, through reception circuitry,an SS block bitmap from the PCell, the SS block bitmap having one ormore SS block bits corresponding to one or more SS block indices. Inaction 1424, the UE may monitor/measure, through the receptioncircuitry, one or more SS blocks from the SCell based on the SS blockbitmap. An example of the bitmap is shown in FIG. 8 or 13 . It should benoted that the one or more SS block bits being “1” indicates that thecorresponding one or more SS block are to be measured by for the UE,while the one or more SS block bits being “0” indicates that thecorresponding one or more SS block are not to be measured by the UE.

FIG. 14B is a flowchart of a method for a base station, according to anexample implementation of the present application. In FIG. 14B,flowchart 1440 includes actions 1442 and 1444. In action 1442, the basestation may receive, through reception circuitry of the base station, ameasurement report having beam-related measurements of an Scell from aUE. In action 1442, the base station may provide, through transmissioncircuitry of the base station, an SS block bitmap to the UE from aPcell, the SS block bitmap having one or more SS block bitscorresponding to one or more SS block indices, where the SS block bitmapis transmitted to the UE through RRC signaling. An example of the bitmapis shown in FIG. 8 or 13 . It should be noted that the one or more SSblock bits being “1” indicates that the corresponding one or more SSblock are to be measured by for the UE, while the one or more SS blockbits being “0” indicates that the corresponding one or more SS block arenot to be measured by the UE.

FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram of a node for wirelesscommunication, in accordance with various aspects of the presentapplication. As shown in FIG. 15 , node 1500 may include transceiver1520, processor 1526, memory 1528, one or more presentation components1534, and at least one antenna 1536. Node 1500 may also include an RFspectrum band module, a base station communications module, a networkcommunications module, and a system communications management module,input/output (I/O) ports, I/O components, and power supply (notexplicitly shown in FIG. 15 ). Each of these components may be incommunication with each other, directly or indirectly, over one or morebuses 1540.

Transceiver 1520 having transmitter 1522 and receiver 1524 may beconfigured to transmit and/or receive time and/or frequency resourcepartitioning information. In some implementations, transceiver 1520 maybe configured to transmit in different types of subframes and slotsincluding, but not limited to, usable, non-usable and flexibly usablesubframes and slot formats. Transceiver 1520 may be configured toreceive data and control channels.

Node 1500 may include a variety of computer-readable media.Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessedby node 1500 and include both volatile and non-volatile media, removableand non-removable media. By way of example, and not limitation,computer-readable media may comprise computer storage media andcommunication media. Computer storage media includes both volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data.

Computer storage media includes RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or othermemory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices. Computer storage media doesnot comprise a propagated data signal. Communication media typicallyembodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, programmodules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier waveor other transport mechanism and includes any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one ormore of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media includes wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

Memory 1528 may include computer-storage media in the form of volatileand/or non-volatile memory. Memory 1528 may be removable, non-removable,or a combination thereof. Example memory includes solid-state memory,hard drives, optical-disc drives, and etc. As illustrated in FIG. 15 ,memory 1528 may store computer-readable, computer-executableinstructions 1532 (e.g., software codes) that are configured to, whenexecuted, cause processor 1526 to perform various functions describedherein, for example, with reference to FIGS. 1 through 14B.Alternatively, instructions 1532 may not be directly executable byprocessor 1526 but be configured to cause node 1500 (e.g., when compiledand executed) to perform various functions described herein.

Processor 1526 may include an intelligent hardware device, e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, and etc.Processor 1526 may include memory. Processor 1526 may process data 1530and instructions 1532 received from memory 1528, and information throughtransceiver 1520, the base band communications module, and/or thenetwork communications module. Processor 1526 may also processinformation to be sent to transceiver 1520 for transmission throughantenna 1536, to the network communications module for transmission to acore network.

One or more presentation components 1534 presents data indications to aperson or other device. Example one or more presentation components 1534include a display device, speaker, printing component, vibratingcomponent, and etc.

From the above description it is manifest that various techniques can beused for implementing the concepts described in the present applicationwithout departing from the scope of those concepts. Moreover, while theconcepts have been described with specific reference to certainimplementations, a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognizethat changes can be made in form and detail without departing from thescope of those concepts. As such, the described implementations are tobe considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Itshould also be understood that the present application is not limited tothe particular implementations described above, but many rearrangements,modifications, and substitutions are possible without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a serving cell of a basestation (BS), the method comprising: receiving a measurement report froma user equipment (UE), the measurement report comprising measurementsassociated with another cell; and transmitting, to the UE, beaminformation based on the received measurements via a two-stageindication, wherein the beam information comprises at least asynchronization signal (SS) block bitmap having one or more SS blockbits corresponding to one or more SS block indices for the other cell.2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE receives one or more resourcelocations of one or more SS blocks from the other cell based on the SSblock bitmap.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the serving cell is aprimary cell (PCell).
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the other cellis one of a secondary cell (SCell) and a primary secondary cell(PSCell).
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the serving cell and theother cell are associated with a same cell group.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the serving cell and the other cell are associated with twodifferent cell groups.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or moreSS block indices correspond to one or more SS block positions in a burstassociated with the other cell.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein: theone or more SS block bits being “1” indicates that corresponding one ormore SS blocks are to be measured by the UE; and the one or more SSblock bits being “0” indicates that the corresponding one or more SSblocks are not to be measured by the UE.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the two-stage indication comprises a Radio Resource Control(RRC) message and a Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE).10. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the beam information tothe UE comprises transmitting the beam information to the UE via RadioResource Control (RRC) signaling.
 11. A base station (BS) comprising:one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storingcomputer-executable instructions; and at least one processor coupled tothe one or more non-transitory computer-readable media and configured toexecute the computer-executable instructions to: receive, at a servingcell of the BS, a measurement report from a user equipment (UE), themeasurement report comprising measurements associated with another cell;and transmit, by the serving cell, to the UE, beam information based onthe received measurements via a two-stage indication, wherein the beaminformation comprises at least a synchronization signal (SS) blockbitmap having one or more SS block bits corresponding to one or more SSblock indices for the other cell.
 12. The BS of claim 11, wherein the UEreceives one or more resource locations of one or more SS blocks fromthe other cell based on the SS block bitmap.
 13. The BS of claim 11,wherein the serving cell is a primary cell (PCell).
 14. The BS of claim11, wherein the other cell is one of a secondary cell (SCell) and aprimary secondary cell (PSCell).
 15. The BS of claim 11, wherein theserving cell and the other cell are associated with a same cell group.16. The BS of claim 11, wherein the serving cell and the other cell areassociated with two different cell groups.
 17. The BS of claim 11,wherein the one or more SS block indices correspond to one or more SSblock positions in a burst associated with the other cell.
 18. The BS ofclaim 11, wherein: the one or more SS block bits being “1” indicatesthat corresponding one or more SS blocks are to be measured by the UE;and the one or more SS block bits being “0” indicates that thecorresponding one or more SS blocks are not to be measured by the UE.19. The BS of claim 11, wherein the two-stage indication comprises aRadio Resource Control (RRC) message and a Medium Access Control (MAC)control element (CE).
 20. The BS of claim 11, wherein transmitting thebeam information to the UE comprises transmitting the beam informationto the UE via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.